2008 Award of Distinction for Industry Leadership

AFAC’s Award of Distinction for Industry Leadership honours those who integrate animal welfare into their core business strategy, setting their own bar higher for expectations regarding animal welfare.  The honourees demonstrate leadership and commitment to dealing with issues relevant to animal care.  They lead by example.  The 2008 Alberta Farm Animal Care Award of Distinction for Industry Leadership goes to Lakeland College, Vermilion, Alberta.

Established in 1913, Lakeland College is Canada’s only inter provincial college, serving Alberta and Saskatchewan.  Agricultural Sciences is one of the programs offered to students.  The on-campus dairy, swine, sheep and beef operations provide students in the livestock courses with a production-based living laboratory.

At the same time the livestock industry was creating AFAC in the early ‘90s, like minded individuals at Lakeland College were considering the mood of industry and the public towards animal agriculture and what role they should take in promoting responsible, humane animal care.  With the complete support of the producer-based advisory committee, the first animal handling course was taught at Lakeland in 1996.  It brought farm animal behaviour, codes of practice, low stress handling techniques into the curriculum.  Dr. Terri Rowat, Lakeland’s Chair of Agricultural Sciences at the time, taught the first course and she notes that “people were ready for it.”  Welfare and ethics were later incorporated into what is now called Animal Handling, Welfare and Ethics.

This course also includes an introduction to safe handling and restraint of various kinds of large animals in clinical and field settings.  Handler safety, the assessment of humane treatment and housing of the animal is discussed in lab and lectures. 

Then, students are assigned a 600-800 lb heifer or intact bull calf and are required to work with herds and flocks of beef and dairy cattle, sheep and swine.  In 7 weeks, the students are expected, to the best of their ability, to put the low stress handling techniques learned in class into practice and be able to halter break their animal and demonstrate industry standard expectations of stockmanship.  They also need to be able to describe animal behaviors and to know how it is applied in a production unit.

“Today's livestock industry is challenged to secure employees that are experienced in livestock handling,” says Steve Pylot, the current instructor of the program.  “Lakeland College operates a curriculum for students, with all levels of experience, to ensure that students with limited large animal experience can develop core skills and respect for the low stress handling expectations of the beef and other livestock industries.  People can be your best asset or biggest liability depending on their attitude and skills related to livestock handling,” says Pylot.

The hands-on program aims to provide competent future employees for the livestock industry, be they urbanites with an interest in animals or rural-based students. Employer comments say Lakeland’s program gives its graduates a real head start in the feedlot and on cow calf operations. 

Students come to the course with a wide range of experience along with the practices, philosophies and attitudes they have learned at home, in 4-H and in their communities.  Sometimes there was a bit of resistance.  However, Dr. Rowat notes that it is getting easier.  Students and industry are “getting it” and “doing it right.”

Increased awareness of food industry’s challenges and goals, welfare and ethics is addressed in the lectures and group discussions.  Guest lecturers have been a part of the course from the beginning including speakers from AFAC, ARD and the Alberta SPCA.

Congratulations from AFAC to Lakeland College staff for your leadership initiatives regarding livestock welfare in Alberta.